Flour crisis was fake

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has presented a report to Prime Minister Imran Khan on the wheat crisis in the country.

According to the report, there was no wheat crisis in the country and it was created artificially.

The report — shared with the provinces — blames mismanagement for the flour crisis. It said 2.1 million metric tons of wheat was still available in the country.

On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed preparation of a report on the artificial shortage of wheat, flour and sugar and making it public, the media reports.

The prime minister ordered strict accountability of all those trying to enforce an artificial shortage of wheat and sugar in the country. He also tasked his aides with disclosing the names of all those found involved in creating the crisis. Meanwhile, during a meeting with the PTI social media team on Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed great displeasure at the unprofessionalism of some of his ministers.

Sources told Geo that Imran said when he checked his mobile phone in the morning, he was made aware of what crisis he will have to tackle that day.

“When the opposition does nothing, some minister makes such a statement that it becomes difficult to manage [its after effects],” he said.

“There are even some ministers who are found more in Kohsar Market than in their offices,” he remarked in annoyance, referring to an upscale area in Islamabad frequented by people for dining out.

Over the course of the meeting, the wheat crisis also came under discussion and the premier promised that a fact-finding report on the wheat and sugar crisis will be made public.

"Whoever is found responsible for the crisis will not be spared and will be held accountable no matter how influential they are,” said the premier.

A day earlier, in a meeting to discuss the artificial shortage of wheat flour and sugar in the country, the prime minister had ordered that the investigative report on the shortage be made public as soon as possible and that exemplary punishment be meted out to those involved.

During meeting with the media team, the premier also regretted the “intentional spread of fake news” against the government, however supporting the fact that “positive criticism on the social media” needs to exist.

The prime minister said it was necessary to ascertain facts before “attacking the government”.

“I am always prepared to handle a crisis,” he added.

Imran said oftentimes it is “our own ministers who fall prey to the media’s fake news propaganda”.

The premier said hopelessness was tantamount to a sin and expressed confidence that the country will see good times soon.

In September last year, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had issued a "red letter" to 27 ministries for a "critical delay" in the tasks assigned to them.

The letter — which is viewed as a final warning and an expression of displeasure — was issued to the secretaries for 27 federal ministries out of a total of 34 ministries.

Earlier, in March, the PMO had announced that the premier will be conducting a review of all the ministries and cabinet divisions of the government every quarter.

The prime minister visit to Karachi on Saturday was cancelled due to the inclement weather, the PM Office media wing said in a press release.

Meanwhile, addressing a ceremony via video link in connection with the inauguration of various development projects initiated by the federal government, the prime minister said development of port city of Karachi was linked with the overall progress of the country; therefore, the PTI government was making all-out efforts to resolve its issues and launch mega development projects.

He said Pakistan’s interests were linked with the development of Karachi, as it affected the whole country.

He said the development projects he had to inaugurate today included three flyovers and two roads and asked the governor Sindh to provide further details about different projects.

The ceremony was attended by Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar, and others.

Referring to 18th Amendment, the prime minister said within the ambit of this constitutional provision, the PTI government was making all-out efforts for the development of the Sindh province, particularly Karachi.

He said provincial funding alone could not develop the provincial metropolitan as evident from the best management practices adopted worldwide.

The best management system had added to the development of mega cities in the world including London, Paris, Tehran etc, he added.

The prime minister said the local government system and mayorship were effective in resolution of different issues.

About police reforms, he said in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, steps were taken to empower the police force, ending political interference.

The prime minister also expressed his regret for not attending the ceremony due to the inclement weather which prevented him from traveling to Karachi.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared abuse of arrest powers by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) harmful to the economy, investment and foreign policy interests of the state.

The court issued a 56-page verdict on the bail approval of DG Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Abdul Samad and Director Amjad Mustafa in the 4G license corruption case.

The verdict has been issued by Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

The detailed judgment remarks that incompetence, lack of professional expertise and proper training to deal with the white-collar crime besides jeopardizing constitutional rights can have deleterious consequences for the governance system and cause harm to the economy.

The judgment stresses that an effective and efficient accountability process or mechanism is an integral part of a democratic system and a precondition for upholding the rule of law.

But the foundational principle or requirement for an effective and credible accountability entity such as the bureau is the trust and confidence of the people in its fairness impartiality professionalism and above all that it is free from discrimination.

Arbitrary or indiscriminate exercise of executive powers vested in such entities instead of achieving the public interest for which it has been established can greatly harm other public interests, the court says.

The court remarks that there is no doubt that corruption is one of the biggest evils that can plague the governance system of a country, as it affects everyone but the most vulnerable and downtrodden are the real victims and thus cannot be tolerated in any form.

Therefore across-the-board accountability in a transparent manner and free from discrimination and arbitrary exercise of powers is inevitable to meet the challenges faced due to the menace of corruption, it said and stressed professional training qualification and expertise of the investigators and prosecutors to deal with white-collar crimes.

The judgment states that corruption has badly affected rule of law and economic development in the country and it has also discouraged foreign investors.

The verdict further states that in order to get rid of corruption, it is important for the NAB to hold everyone accountable.

“The NAB should be such an institution that all corrupt elements would be afraid of it. Abuse of NAB authorities can negatively impact governance and economy,” the verdict added.

The judgment added that it was important for the NAB to have enough evidences before arresting an accused.

In the absence of solid evidence against the accused his arrest is an abuse of authority, it stated.